


Quiet Comfort

by Melkur_Mistress



Series: Stolen Moments on Floor 507 [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Hope, Intimacy, Master / Missy issues, Missy has quiet moments with the Doctor, The Master Has Issues, twissy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 19:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15758583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melkur_Mistress/pseuds/Melkur_Mistress
Summary: Missy slips away to go the Doctor while he's unconscious. One morning he wakes to find her with him. The next night, the Master confronts her.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 Missy laid on her side, wide awake on the large oak bed, her eyes focused on the dim light through the curtain edges. She had only removed her jacket and boots, not quite prepared to remove anything else with her not completely welcome room mate sharing the bed. She didn’t like having to share her personal space like this, even with herself.

She could hear the rhythmic breathing of her younger self behind her. Why she couldn't get as lucky as the Doctor had and managed to get a room of her own she didn’t know. In truth, space in the farmhouse was very limited, so they were lucky to get a proper bedroom at all, yet alone one of the larger rooms.

 They instinctively seemed to find the room together and establish it is a sort of base - she realised that the person who had made an attempt to get into the room not long after was likely the previous occupant, but the Master had made it quite clear that this was _their_ room now, and they weren't bothered by anyone again, excepting some wary looks from the locals when they stepped outside.

Some things about being together felt right, comfortable, others downright wrong. He had made his interest in her clear, but she had made her lack of interest clearer. He hadn’t crossed a line, so she’d had no reason to knock him out again, and they mostly cohabited the same space without issue. Frustration and annoyance, but nothing intolerable - it simply made sense for them to stay close together.

She rolled off the bed, deciding not to add extra time by putting her boots back on, and as silently as she could, walked across the slightly creaking floorboards, grasping the doorknob and turning it. Glad not to have woken him, and have to start explaining herself, she slipped out through the door, pulling it closed with a soft click.

She took a moment to smooth down her skirt and straighten her belt, realising that sleeping in her clothes wasn’t doing much for her image. She decided to locate an iron before long.

She walked quietly through the hallway on her way to the Doctors room. Given his condition he was one of the lucky ones to have a room to himself. It was significantly smaller than her room, but she had stolen hers whereas he had been offered the room.  

The locals had been wary at first, but their instinct to help an injured person had got them all relatively accepted. Missy had intervened quickly when various medicines were brought into the room. Nardole not being remotely clued up on which of the ‘helpful’ substances would actually make the Doctor worse. Time Lord physiology was not exactly mainstream knowledge even when there were more of their kind around.

She had ensured that Nardole knew what he was doing, and then left - not liking the idea of not knowing what her younger self was up to. Having only the briefest glimmers of memory, she wasn’t aware what he might be about to do next.

They had talked, mostly consisting of questions from him, but she had answered to some degree, and got him away from the topic of her clothing choices, or more precisely, what was underneath, and on to what actually mattered -  getting out of the ridiculous mess they were now in.

He settled down and she realised that staying close to him was a wise move, despite her instinct to keep an eye on the Doctor. If they could just focus and work together she was certain that they would be able to find a way out of the mess they were in. Only one thing was keeping him there though and she was well aware of that. If he had a dematerialisation circuit he would be long gone, and then she would have to make a decision.

She was getting stronger flashes of memory and now they were piecing together to some degree - this explained why she spent considerable time not long after her regeneration working at building vital components for her TARDIS - ensuring she wouldn't get in this position again. She knew that when she gave it to him - and she _would_ give it to him, that he would leave and expect her to go with him, and she wasn’t prepared to make such a momentous decision yet.

Thankfully he had no idea she had the one thing he needed right there in her pocket.

Now though, in the quiet of the night, she walked silently through the hallway. As she passed a partially open door, her eye caught the flickering of candlelight and she spotted Nardole in the room. He was engrossed in conversation with the woman who sometime cast looks in her direction. Missy had not learnt the names of any of the people they were stuck there with - but this woman, who clearly had the world's largest crush on Nardole, glanced her way occasionally. Her look, one of curiosity more than anything. She wondered what Nardole had told her, but wasn't overly bothered regardless. She was not a threat to her, so she simply smiled to herself as she noticed her edging closer to Nardole while showing him a map spread out on the table in front of them.

The rest of the house seemed silent and calm so she quickly made her way to the door at the end of the hall and opened it, slipping in uneventfully.

She closed the door securely behind her and leaned back against it as she watched him. He was sleeping still, and that bothered her - this was becoming too long, and she started to wonder whether he would end up regenerating, or rather facing a difficult regeneration. There would be little to help him with that, stuck in their present situation.

She hesitated, then stepped closer and sat down on the edge of the bed, her hand slipping into his.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” she said. “What was that? Of course you can Missy? Well thank you.”

She sighed, wishing he would show some sign of waking soon, and laid down next to him. There was little space, but laying on her side, she managed to fit. She instinctively moulded her body to his, finding his warmth irresistible as she draped an arm across his chest, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Closing her eyes she felt an incredible sense of peace as she focused on the sound of his steady breath and the feel of his chest rising and falling. She hoped he wouldn’t think that she had turned away from him - she hoped that _she_ could get her head straight enough to know whether she had or not. It was all very confusing.

She felt a wave of sadness as she contemplated that he might not trust her in the slightest after what she had done - especially with her younger self still with them. The situation was a ridiculous mess as it was, but she couldn't stand the thought that it could have broken the fragile ground of trust and friendship they had been gradually repairing.

She wished she had access to decent weaponry, or at least the tools and materials to make something useful. It was not until everything had quietened down that she started to evaluate the past few days. Invading Cybermen would be very handy about now, if only she was equipped to destroy them. The very thought of creating a device to gain control of them, along with a large scale weapon to just wipe them all out was very, very appealing. She could work through the mess in her head and her swirling confused emotions if she just partook in a bit of Cyberman murder.

She thought briefly that if their friendship had been set back massively, then she might not be welcome to be this physically close when he woke. She hated that thought, and instinctively inched as close as possible, curling herself into him until her body felt as it fitted perfectly to his. She smiled contentedly as her mind drifted to his hand taking hers on the rooftop.

He still held hope, he wouldn’t give up on her.

She had laid with him every chance she got - it calmed her, the instant connection she felt to him. He had done the same for her so many times in the vault - holding her close to him as she finally fell asleep after exhausting herself emotionally. She wasn't used to the bombardment of feeling she was dealing with - guilt, grief, sorrow - it hit her hard at times, too hard, and she found herself without the ability or wish to turn it on other people. That really only left the option of turning it on herself. She had little patience when he went into a speech about morality half the time, but now she was without his presence she realised how little she had progressed with the healthy coping mechanisms they had been talking about.

She felt too exhausted to move, and closed her eyes, holding him close to her.

She wasn’t even aware that this time she had fallen asleep until she began to rouse, calm and happy as she opened her eyes and found she was still laying with him but his hand had now shifted up and was resting in her hair...she froze, suddenly realising that his hand, now moving, stroking her hair, meant that he was awake.

“Good morning Missy,” he said.

She eased up slightly, turning and bending her arm so she could prop herself at a more comfortable angle to make eye contact with him.

“You’re awake,” she said.

“Good to see you haven't lost your powers of observation while i’ve been asleep.”

Missy stared at him then laughed, the lightness in his tone easing any insecurity she felt.

“What’s the state of play?” he asked.

“Well, my younger self is restless and also _really_ starting to annoy me, the egg - he’s got a girlfriend, it’s sweet, you’d approve, she’s not evil or anything like that. We’ve... put Bill in the barn - the local’s were panicking...i’ve checked on her, she’s...well she’s hardly ok, but she’s safest in there. We can't reach our TARDIS’s as of yet, and have no concrete plans to get out of all this.” 

“And what about you?” he asked, looking searchingly into her eyes.

“Me? Well, I wish we had never answered that stupid distress call - nothing is ever straightforward with you.”

“To be fair Missy, this situation does have a lot to do with you,” he said. “But this wasn’t something we could have predicted. I’m assuming you don’t have residual memories?”

“With two of us here, i’m putting the blame on him for his one, I don't have any memories that would be of any use. This feels like one hell of a mess of fixed points and paradoxes. This trip has been a colossal mess. I’m choosing the destination next time.”

He smiled at the thought they could have a next time. They fell silent for a moment and she couldn’t help a smile at the warmth she saw in his eyes. He soon sighed and closed his eyes momentarily, realising how tired he still felt.

“You’ve been checking on Bill?” he said after a short while, as he opened his eyes to look at her almost searchingly.

“Yeah, she scares the local’s and is capable of a lot of firepower, so it's a bit of a delicate situation, and I don’t want the other me going in there.”

He raised his hand and stroked her cheek, “are you concerned about her?”

She closed her eyes, his touch warming every fibre of her being, “not concerned - her fate is set in stone now. Sorry, not want you want to hear, but not facing facts will only get in the way of dealing with everything else….but I feel _something_ about all of this. Regret maybe, even a bit sad for her. Let’s keep that a secret though.”

He contemplated her words, as hard as they were to hear, and tried to focus on the fact that she admitted to the empathy she was feeling for Bill.

“Do the people here know who you are? That you and he are the same person?”

“No, we’ve both mostly kept out of the way, he just gets their backs up,” she said, opening her eyes to meet his.

“Thank you for looking out for her Missy,” he said, his hand slipping down from her cheek back to rest on the bed sheet.

“I have some ideas - tactics for dealing with the Cybermen, we can fill the other me in later. He won’t care, but I can win him over to help us,” she said, not acknowledging his words.

“Are you doing ok?” he asked, his concern genuine.

“I haven’t started killing the locals out of boredom, so i’d say i’m doing really well. Some of them are _very_ annoying. Don’t know how much longer it’ll be before the other me loses his patience though. He’s _really_ tired of this place.”

“How are _you_ , with him here?” the Doctor, asked.

She didn’t reply, and turned away, shuffling back down until she could rest her head on his chest. She focused on the patterned wallpaper on the wall opposite, wanting to look anywhere but at him.

“Missy, he doesn’t have the empathy you do - you can lose yourself around him.”

“I’m here with you aren’t I? He’s too stubborn to come here and be near you. It’s his own unique form of self torture - denying himself what he wants the most,” she said, before falling silent.

The Doctors arm slipped around her shoulders, and she smiled, his warmth a desperately needed comfort.

“You're the only one who can stay close enough to him  - we don't want any nasty surprises from him. Just remember who you are.”

Missy sighed and sat up, his arm dropping reluctantly from her shoulders as she stood. He felt the loss of her closeness instantly as the bed rose slightly, the creaking springs adjusting.

“I have to go,” she said. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

"You could stay - just for a while..." he said, seeing her pause momentarily at his words.

She opened the door and slipped out quietly.

His gaze remained on the solid wood of the door, long after she had left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> took me a while to get this up as I haven't posted a collection before but eventually worked it out! I know what i'm doing now, finally!

She had not been remotely surprised when she saw her past self standing outside the Doctors room the next evening. He was leaning against the wall almost casually, but she could feel the tension radiating from him as soon as he saw her. She shook her head and stopped, feeling a flash of annoyance that this would interrupt her time with the Doctor, and walked past him, knowing he would pursue her, but wanting any potential altercation in the privacy of their room.

He pushed himself off the wall and followed her, neither speaking. She led him to their room, walking in and standing in the middle of the room before turning to face him, her posture relaxed and controlled. She had positioned herself carefully, aware that she could reach her umbrella within a few steps.

He closed the door behind him, and stepped closer, staring hard at her.

“Last night Missy. What were you doing in there all night with _ him _ ?” he said, his voice laced with disdain.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked, “Oh my dear, everything you dream of. Why did I reject our feelings when I was you? You really do like to hurt yourself.”

She could see the tension in his jaw, he was close to snapping, but making an effort to keep it under control. Interesting - he wasn’t just going to lash out at her.

“What, did you _ do _ ? Has he got you so well trained that you’ll lick his wounds for him too?” he spat.

“Oh please, your jealousy is ridiculously obvious,” she laughed.

He  moved fast and was on her in a split second, grabbing her wrists as he held her arms at her sides. He stood as close as possible without losing eye contact and stared hard at her. “Don’t test me.”

She rolled her eyes, finding his outburst amusing but mentally calculating how she could regain the upper hand. She wasn’t going to tolerate this for long.

“Are you done with your attempt at power play, because it’s tiresome,” she said firmly.

He smirked, wanting to take it further and hating how controlled she was, no one stood their ground with him like she did. He looked at her and saw everything he had died to prevent. He could humour the irony to some degree - that he would end his existence so the Doctor wouldn’t keep him as a pet, just for her to embrace the concept. It angered him on another level though, and when that feeling flooded through him, he knew she could see the danger in his eyes.

“We need to find those lifts so we can get out of here,” he said, as he released his grip on her wrists and stepped back.

She resisted the urge to rub her wrists despite the slight burn his rough grip had left behind, and remained where she was, watching him.

“Just to be clear, in case you’ve got any twisted notions of bringing the whole farm with us - it’s just you and me. We could travel for a while, together. Leave the Doctor to sort this mess out, he can get his hero crusade going and we can do what we do best.”

“And what’s that?” she asked.

“Look after our self dearest. I’m not walking away from here and leaving my future to cuddle up with the Doctor and end up regenerating together like some sickening Shakespearean tragedy.”

She shook her head, “i’ve no intention to regenerate here, I want to leave as much as you do.”

“Then what? Save him, go back to his prison? You know he’s always wanted that - to have you right where he wants you, dependent on him.”

“I’m not dependent on him or anyone,” she said, her cool facade slipping as her anger broke through quickly.

He felt pleased with himself that he had struck a nerve and held out his arms, “sorry, did I upset you. Do you want a cuddle or something to help you feel better?”

“Go to hell,” she said, as she made a move for the door.

He took a quick side step until his back was against it, beating her by a fraction of a second.

“Don’t go getting pissed off with me and leave. We have to work through our issues and plan how to get out of here,” he said.

_ “Our _ issues?” she said, incredulous. “You want to talk - then let’s talk.”

She moved over to the bed and laid down on her back, her eyes focusing on the ceiling, “you’re a jealous idiot sometimes.”

He sighed and walked over to the bed, shrugging off his jacket carefully before hanging it on a peg on the wall. Taking a moment to watch her, he climbed onto the bed and laid on his side, his head on a pillow.  He propped himself up on his arm, and his other hand moved to her hair, stroking slowly.

She turned on her side, his hand moving with fluidity as he continued stroking her hair, even as she moved to face him.

He stared at her, suddenly serious, “you’re not his pet, don’t let him change you. All this emotion you have, spilling out of you - don’t think I don’t notice. It’s not exactly, _pleasant_ is it? Just leave with me, and he can go on for years about how he sacrificed so much for you, and still you turned on him. He’ll get to tell the story about how the Master broke his hearts - find himself an audience who will all flock around him. You and me - we can go and reminisce about old times - when you didn’t feel all emotionally tortured. We could conquer a world, become royalty, have some down time while our every need is met.”

Missy smiled, “I could use a holiday, that sounds quite appealing.”

“That’s all I need to know - that i’m still in there somewhere. That you haven’t totally lost our mind. Shall we kiss and make up sis?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, “no, absolutely not.”

“You’d kiss _ him _ though,” he said, irrational jealousy spilling suddenly out of  him as he looked into her eyes.

“Yes my dear, just like you used to,” she said, feeling almost victorious when she saw the way he tensed. Oh he was jealous, but possessive of her also. Still not allowing himself to be honest or happy, even where his future was concerned.

They remained on the bed, his hand running through her hair in an almost curious manner, resisting the urge to explore further, despite his desire to examine who he was going to become.  They  laid awake, both silent as she wondered whether she really did find that idea to leave with him appealing. She wasn’t even sure if she was playing him or not anymore.

All she was certain of was the feeling of loss when she laid with her past instead of the Doctor.


End file.
